Through A Daughter's Eyes
by DaphinoraS
Summary: The Enterprise gains an unexpected visitor and Bones has to wonder how many green-blooded, pointy-eared hobgoblins are going to keep appearing from the future. Even if this one's easy on the eyes. Old Spock has a daughter-a very determined daughter who very much takes after her daddy. If it weren't for the pointed ears and arched eyebrows, why, she'd look just like one James Kirk!
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

"We don't need any _FEDERATION!_" Screeched the closest Velahrin. As the leader of the group pulled me from the Chair, I quickly recalled all that I knew of the Velahrin.

They had showed up quite suddenly in the middle of my starship's sweep of the area outside the Klingon Neutral Zone. The Velahrin, who were boarded upon what seemed to be a small _planet_, came hurtling straight out of the Neutral Zone. I had to keep trigger-happy Jendou from immediately shooting down the… ship…?

We contacted Starfleet Command and awaited orders, trying meanwhile to remain on peaceful terms with the Velahrin. They didn't seem to be aggressive beings, and looked relatively humanoid. The only visible difference between the Velahrin and humans was their hands. Each Velahrin kept their hands gloved, and nobody on our ship had seen their bare hands. Through all of our talks, they seemed to be most agreeable to being in my presence and that of my XO, T'Lordia. We never once attempted physical contact with any Velahrin, and they obviously appreciated it. As soon as I could, I had sent out an announcement telling my crew to refrain from touching the new species.

The Velahrin were very easy-going people. They answered all of our questions with apparent honest answers and questions of their own. I tried to answer all of their inquiries as truthfully as possible without giving away any weaknesses or mishaps of Starfleet or the Federation.

Starfleet Command soon replied back to us that we were to persuade the Velahrin into joining the Federation. We learned that on the Velahrin's planet-ship thing, called _Velahra_, there was an unidentifiable amount of dilithium crystals.

When the Velahrin corrected us, stating that these crystals we seek are not on the ship, we were, well, confused. The Velahrin had not lied to us yet, but when our scanners disagreed with what the humanoids told us, it led to some problems.

Then the truth came stuttering out.

Their planet, their ship, that _thing_, most certainly did not have dilithium crystals on it.

It _was_ a dilithium crystal. One giant, uncut, unpolished reserve of dilithium energy, ready to be harnessed and used.

It was dangerous.

So naturally my Kirk genes kicked in and I got into an argument with the leader of the Velahrin colony. It wasn't safe to have a colony of people living on a power preserve that could become unbalanced at any moment. Or it could attract the attention of the Klingons.

However, the head Velahrin, Tou-lah, did not see eye to eye with me.

And thus me dangling from his bare hand around my bare neck as my command crew stood powerless against the small number of Velahrin always with Tou-lah.

"Why…" I wheezed out, "… did you take off your glove?"

Tou-lah smiled and set me down, pulling me closer to him by my neck.

"You're so young, so rash, Little One."

This earned a blank look from me.

"You miss him, don't you? Your father. Disappeared in the Romulus Supernova Crisis, didn't he?" Although his words were phrased as questions, every syllable he put forth had the utter sound of belief and conviction in it.

I winced. It wasn't surprising he knew—everyone knew at this point. _"The Great Heroes' Daughter Orphaned Two Years Before Achieved Captaincy."_

It still stung though. Every day, I would reach out to my Sa-Mekh and feel the bitter emptiness where he used to be.

"I could send you to him, Little One. Though, which father would you rather see first?"

And then I had to make the hardest decision of my life.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, I'm pretty sure I'll continue this, but let me know what you think please! Obviously this isn't much to go on, but I'm working on it. I hope to have Chapter One posted tonight.

Please review! At least Favorite!

~DaphinoraS


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Trek. I am making no profit from this story. I have no knowledge of any relations with the higher-ups that manage the real Star Trek universe.**

**(Thank you to AlexBSChris, whose review inspired me quite suddenly to finish this chapter.)**

**Summary of Chapter: Captain James Kirk of the _U.S.S Enterprise_ was bored. So, naturally, something exciting was about to happen.**

Chapter One

I listened diligently to the ramblings of Uhura about the subtle differences in dialect between the Vulcan and Romulan language. I was learning Vulcan—it would be handy. Of course, this had nothing to do with the fact that Spock, er, the _other_ Spock (known strictly as Ambassador Selek to everyone except my command crew, a select few in the admiralty, and the Vulcan elders) was about to be transferred from New Vulcan to Ahjla II.

Apparently, Sp—_Selek_ requested to be aboard the _Enterprise_ for old times' sake. Also, he made the awesome jab at the admiralty about how he is the only Vulcan ambassador yet to have been on the flagship. That sure made things awkward amongst Starfleet Command for a while.

So we were to take Selek to Ahjla II from New Vulcan, which would be a four days' travel from where we were now in a different quadrant. We would meet up with Selek then and beam him aboard, then take off towards New Vulcan at a leisurely warp four.

The days couldn't go by quickly enough. I spent most of my time with Uhura. Well, if you didn't count 'paperwork' and official business as my time. I sure didn't. When I wasn't working or with Uhura, I was with my First Officer. We determined a few months ago that if we were to be worth anything as a command team we needed to be at least civil to each other. I apologized for The Bridge Incident, as Uhura so kindly puts it, and he apologized for marooning me on a below-freezing planet covered with blood-crazed creatures.

It was difficult for us to figure out how to connect at first. He liked Uhura, and I didn't know what to make of her anymore. I could tell that their relationship was crumbling around the edges. He didn't allow her to touch him on the bridge, or in the mess hall, or in the hallways. I was no expert on Vulcan mating, but I figured that refusing to touch someone you love was a bad sign. I learned after the first three times I brought up his and my communication officer's relationship that I shouldn't mention it to him. He always got stiff and found some reason to leave my company, Vulcan mask rigid and unyielding. This didn't bother me—what did bother me were his eyes. One can only mask so much; naturally there were spots on the Spock's person that one could easily see his emotions from. His eyes, for one, were his usual tell point. Any talk of Uhura brought a sort of ice to his eyes that chilled me more than Delta Vega had.

He didn't eat meat, and I ate as much as I could without Bones grumping about it. We quickly developed a pattern: we would eat separately on our own schedule, then meet up at 2000 hours to play chess.

I hated chess. At least, I used to, before I started playing with Spock. When he first asked me if I played, I was completely floored. Naturally he would stumble upon the one thing I hated most about myself and grasp it with both hands. I grudgingly acquiesced to a game with the half-Vulcan. He demanded a rematch after I beat him in six moves. Thus began our favorite pastime. Spock is the only sentient being I've met that can beat me at something. Of course I let him win some… Occasionally. Maybe. Or not.

Spock and I have formed a loose friendship that strengthens with each mission we go on. For some reason we're always put in life-threatening situations. We always scrape through with just barely enough time. My dignity has been few and far between lately; somehow Spock and I keep being pushed into being alone together for one reason or another. For example, the last mission we had we were surveying some plants on an M Class planet when we were captured by humanoids and chained to each other in a dungeon. A _dungeon_! Who even has those anymore?

The more time Spock and I spend together, the more I see the little things that make him, well, Spock. The light green dusting that appears on his cheeks when I make a particularly raunchy joke in front of Bones; the way his ears are always first to flush emerald after we've been running for a while; the way his eyes lit up when he won a chess match; the slight crinkle of his eyes when he not-smiles; the way his lips twitch when I'm being particularly petulant; the way his lips will physically frown but not smile; the way his weight sits differently when he's working (all perfectly centered and precise) as opposed to when we're chatting (leaning forward and easy to throw off balance if need be).

This Spock wasn't nearly as open or affectionate as Selek, though. Selek treated me like an equal and a child and a friend and a brother all at once. Spock treated me like a starship captain. Maybe he wasn't used to having friends, which I brought up once in a conversation with Selek.

_"Jim," he had said, a sad sheen in his eyes, "If Spock's upbringing was anything like mine, then I can quite easily say he had no friends as an adolescent. For all that Vulcans claim to be above bias and emotion, they judge harshly those who mess up their societal norms."_

_ I had taken a moment to respond._

_ "So you're saying that Vulcans are prejudiced bastards that judge first and ask questions later?"_

_ The ambassador nodded his head sadly, an odd look in his eyes. It had taken me a few minutes to figure out which emotion the half-human was trying to hide._

_ "Spock…" I grimaced, "Why are you ashamed? You are not the one at fault here. In fact, there is no fault to be had. People will be people; Vulcans will be Vulcans. There's nothing you could've done to change that."_

_ Selek gave me a tired smile. We talked as long as we could before he acknowledged my jaw-cracking yawns and sent me to bed._

_ "Thank you, Jim."_

Uhura's sharp tone brought me back to the present.

"Are you even listening to me, _Captain_?"

I tried to hide a grimace and glanced around to notice a few ensigns staring. I raised my eyebrows (I wasn't able to lift only one eyebrow—how does Spock do that?) and sent them pointed looks, sending the hesitating ensigns scurrying along to their respective duties. With a sigh I looked back at Lieutenant Uhura.

"Yes, _Lieutenant_, I am."

Five months ago our titles wouldn't be said to each other with teasing respect; instead they would be spat with condescending anger and resentment. I guess it just shows how far we've come in so little time.

Uhura gave me skeptical look.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Captain."

I showed her my bright smile and led her to the turbo lift. She continued talking about honorifics in the Vulcan language ("So instead of saying sa-mekh—do you remember that one? It's father, Kirk—so instead of saying sa-mekh, to a respected elder you would say osa-mekh. It's the o that changes the term from 'father' to 'honored elder'. Similarly…") and I continued listening with one ear as we left the turbo lift and entered the bridge. She broke off abruptly and turned to her station, relieving the ensign that had been on Gamma shift.

I let my gaze roam around the bridge until I found who I was looking for. Spock was surprisingly not at his station, opting instead to converse quietly with Lieutenant Sulu, our helmsman. I frowned as I took in the way Sulu looked at Spock—there was the basic respect and awe, but underneath that I swear I could see a longing and pity that I was sure Spock wouldn't want to see.

I cleared my throat and gathered the attention of my Alpha crew.

"Sulu. Report."

I sat in my chair—the highly esteemed Captain's chair—as Sulu explained that all was well and we were about two hours from New Vulcan at current warp speed. I listened to the rest of my crew report that everything was as it should be before I took in a deep breath and turned to Spock.

"Spock. Report?"

He had moved back to his station while Chekov was reporting, and now stood stiffly with his back to me. He turned and I caught a shard of ice flash through his eyes as he stared at me.

"I have nothing consequential to report, Captain."

Three months ago I would have nodded and turned away, accepting this as a statement that there was nothing wrong. I knew better now.

"… But?"

A slight pressing of the lips.

"'But' nothing, Captain. As I said, I have nothing to report."

I nod and turn away. He can be stubborn if he wants to be. It's not my problem.

Except it is. If his problem is something to do with our mission, then he would tell me, right? Especially if it was dangerous. Spock wouldn't let anybody die if he could help. Within the rules, of course.

The two hours before arriving at New Vulcan were expectedly boring. I'm pretty sure that Sulu and Chekov were playing tic-tac-toe of some sort at one time or another. I didn't say anything.

Finally I was in the transporter room with my First Officer and a couple security officers. I tried to contain my excitement as I gave the go-ahead to Scotty, who then beamed up Ambassador Selek. As soon as he appeared on the platform his eyes found mine and smiled in their sneaky Vulcan way. His lips twitched upwards for the briefest of moments until Spock's slightly shocked gasp resonated throughout the room, pulling looks from the security detail and Selek.

I rolled my eyes and stepped forward, trying to jam my fingers into the Vulcan salute. The ambassador gave a light snort and rested his hand on my shoulder. We stared at each other for a moment before he smiled and spoke to me.

"It's good to see you, Jim."

"It has been quite a while, Ambassador." I said cheekily, giving a slight wink.

A cough behind us reminded me where we were and I stepped back out of Selek's reach, turning and leading him out of the transporter room.

* * *

I spent the next two days almost exclusively with Selek. We talked and played chess and he told me about my father. We talked about his mother and Bones and Tarsus IV. He despaired to learn I wasn't able to escape the experience in this universe. I simply shrugged and carried on. I haven't known a life other than my own, so how was I to know what I would have been like without the treachery of Governor Kodos?

I was on the bridge when it happened. There was no storm. There were no meteors; there were no anomalies to speak of. There was nothing happening at the moment when it happened.

BAM!

It seemed from my point of view that someone had jumped off of the Captain's chair and fallen face down on the floor of the bridge. I called for security, sickbay, and quiet. Resting my hand on my phaser, I slowly approached the humanoid on the floor. All I could see was dark brown hair and pale skin covered by what looked to be a variation of the Starfleet Captain's command gold uniform. A groan let me know that the person—obviously female, if the soft curves and long hair and higher pitch of the groan were any indicators—was alive and waking up. I glanced at the doors to the turbolift and grimaced. It seemed that she was okay, but I wanted Bones to check on her first.

"Hello? Are you okay? Why are you here? Who are you?"

A low groan greeted my questions.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Yeah," the feminine voice answered.

"Do you know who you are?"

A forced chuckle responded and the girl pushed her arms underneath of her, shoving herself up as Bones entered the bridge. The girl stood up slowly and flattened her hair.

"Turn around slowly please." I spoke to her.

She started to turn, but then stopped.

"Spock?" She asked. She was staring at my First Officer with a haunted expression on her face.

I gave Spock a questioning glance and he stared intently at the girl. She had bright blue eyes that seemed somehow familiar, and long sweeping brown hair.

"I do not believe we have met. Who are you and how did you get to be here?"

She flinched at Spock's cold words and took a step towards him. She stopped when she noticed the four phasers trained on her and she looked around. She stared open-mouthed at Bones and then her sight shifted to me. I felt myself blush under her gaze—she's a pretty girl, what can I say?

Everyone in the room was watching her warily. Why was she here?

Then she lurched forwards onto her knees and held her head in her hands, then turned wide eyes to the door of the turbolift. I wondered what she expected to find there, but then the door opened and a harried-looking Selek gaped at the girl.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Sa-mekh?"


End file.
